Industrial Relations: Theory and Practice / Edition 3

by Trevor Colling, Mike Terry

Overview

This revised edition of Industrial Relations: Theory and Practice follows the approach established successfully in preceding volumes edited by Paul Edwards. The focus is on Britain after a decade of public policy which has once again altered the terrain on which employment relations develop. Government has attempted to balance flexibility with fairness, preserving light-touch regulation whilst introducing rights to minimum wages and to employee representation in the workplace. Yet this is an open economy, conditioned significantly by developing patterns of international trade and by European Union policy initiatives. This interaction of domestic and cross-national influences in analysis of changes in employment relations runs throughout the volume.

The structure has been amended slightly. Britain is placed straight away in comparative perspective before attention focuses explicitly on employment relations actors, contexts, processes, and outcomes. Each of the chapters is written by authorities in the field and provides up to date analysis and commentary. A spine of chapters from the preceding volume have been revised and extensively updated and new chapters have been added to refine coverage of issues such as the private sector and developing legal institutions.

Overall, a picture emerges of an economy that is in incremental and contested transition. The imperatives of 'globalization' now infuse governance mechanisms that were once responsive principally to domestic agenda and employment standards are set now by the state that once were established through collective bargaining. It is this fragile and emerging model that will be tested significantly through sustained political and economic change.

"Completely revised, the latest edition of Industrial Relations provides an invaluable guide to the actors, contexts, processes and significant outcomes within British employment relations. Based on a thorough review of the latest research, it is essential reading for students, academics and those professionally involved in employment relations and human resource management."
—Edmund Heery, Cardiff Business School

"This is a terrific collection of insightful analyses of British workplace relations in a global context provided by leading scholars. The chapters creatively utilize a multidisciplinary and critical approach that reveals the continuing and unique value of an industrial relations perspective. The volume cleverly assesses how factors including increased demographic diversity, organizational restructuring, globalization, and the reduced coverage of collective bargaining are affecting the nature and evolution of work and workplace relations. It is a must read.
—Harry C. Katz, Cornell University, New York

"This volume definitely constitutes the most comprehensive and best collection of empirical as well as analytical essays on industrial relations in Great Britain. This substantially revised, enlarged and updated version of its well known predecessors puts the specific national experience in comparative context and international perspective. A truly interdisciplinary volume by leading authorities, this has to be highly recommended for domestic as well as foreign scholars, practitioners and policy makers."
—Bernt Keller, University of Konstanz, Germany

"With working people facing the worst crisis in generations, this book is a much needed reminder of the crucial importance of employment relations research in Britain. The 3rd edition of Industrial Relations, which coincides with the 40th anniversary of the IRRU at Warwick University, provides a completely updated, cutting-edge analysis by leading scholars on work and employment developments in contemporary Britain. It delivers a most informative view of modern employment, its problems and possibilities. A must for students and practitioners in employment relations, human resource management and industrial sociology."
—Professor Carola Frege, London School of Economics and Editor of BJIR

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781444308853
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	03/22/2010
Series:	Industrial Revolutions , #1
Edition description:	3rd ed.
Pages:	496
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 9.50(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Trevor Colling, Senior Lecturer in Industrial Relations, Warwick Business School; Industrial Relations and Organisational Behaviour Group; Industrial Relations Research Unit.

Michael Terry, Emeritus Professor, Warwick Business School; Industrial Relations and Organisational Behaviour Group; Industrial Relations Research Unit.

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Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables vii

List of Common Abbreviations ix

List of Contributors xi

Preface xv

Introduction 1

1 Work, the Employment Relationship and the Field of Industrial Relations Trevor Colling Michael Terry 3

Section 1 British Industrial Relations in Comparative Context 27

2 British Industrial Relations: Between Security and Flexibility Colin Crouch 29

3 British Industrial Relations: The European Dimension Richard Hyman 54

Section 2 Actors 81

4 Management: Caught Between Competing Views of the Organization Keith Sisson John Purcell 83

5 State, Capital and Labour Relations in Crisis Jason Heyes Peter Nolan 106

6 Trade Unions: Power and Influence in a Changed Context Melanie Simms Andy Charlwood 125

Section 3 Contexts 149

7 Public Sector Industrial Relations: The Challenge of Modernization Stephen Bach 151

8 Industrial Relations in the Private Sector James Arrowsmith 178

9 Multinational Companies: Transforming National Industrial Relations? Paul Marginson Guglielmo Meardi 207

10 Industrial Relations in Small Firms Monder Ram Paul Edwards 231

Section 4 Processes 253

11 Negotiation and Collective Bargaining William Brown 255

12 Employee Representation Michael Terry 275

13 The Changing Legal Framework of Employment Relations Linda Dickens Mark Hall 298

14 Legal Institutions and the Regulation of Workplaces Trevor Colling 323

Section 5 Outcomes 347

15 Pay and Working Time: Shifting Contours of the Employment Relationship Damian Grimshaw Jill Rubery 349

16 Industrial Relations and Economic Performance Paul Edwards Sukanya Sengupta 378

17 Skills Policy and the Displacement of Industrial Relations: The Elephant in the Corner? Ewart Keep Caroline Lloyd Jonathan Payne 398

18 Equality and Diversity: The Ultimate Industrial Relations Concern Deborah Dean Sonia Liff 422

Index 447