Collective narratives and politics in the contemporary study of work : the new management practices debate

In this article we explore the question of how as sociologists of work we might research those who constitute the substance of our labour process. We approach this question through an examination of the New Management Practices debate, principally in the labour movement where a distinctive and critical view of NMP developed in the late 1980s. Second, we argue that there is a link between this debate and the wider politics of labour process discussion both within and beyond the labour movement which has witnessed a shift away from an earlier engagement with worker interventions. In response we suggest the need to re-evaluate the nature of academic engagement with labour thus reanimating a closer engagement with labour-in-work and collective worker narratives

Satanic Mills or Silicon Islands? The Politics of High-Tech Production in the Philippines

[Excerpt] So how do we make sense of high-tech production as it emerges in developing countries like the Philippines? What explains the changes and wide variation in how work is organized? What can these changes tell us about the transformation of work in a globalizing economy? And finally, what consequences do these changes have for workers, the vast majority of whom are women? This book engages these key research questions by taking them up at a strategically crucial and empirically grounded flashpoint: a local site of global production and the local labor market in which it is embedded

Learning to be lean. An exploration of the drivers toward successful lean management adoption.

Questa ricerca di dottorato \ue8 stata svolta in stretta collaborazione con la Lean Experience Factory, centro di formazione sul Lean Management e sull\u2019Industry 4.0, istituita da Unindustria Pordenone e McKinsey & Company con partner come l'Universit\ue0 di Udine. L'obiettivo principale di questo studio \ue8 quello di mettere le persone al centro dei processi di cambiamento verso un'organizzazione lean. La letteratura mostra una scarsa attenzione sull'argomento, in quanto si \ue8 concentrata principalmente sul lato \u201ctecnico\u201d della trasformazione, dando meno attenzione, invece, al ruolo delle persone. In particolare, questa tesi mira a colmare questo divario strutturando e spiegando il ruolo delle persone nel processo di adozione di una trasformazione lean. La tesi \ue8 strutturata in tre studi distinti che condividono questo obiettivo comune, ma indagano argomenti diversi con metodologie diverse. I tre studi possono essere raffigurati come tre cerchi concentrici che rappresentano il tipo di interconnessione tra di essi. Il primo studio \ue8 il cerchio esterno in quanto \ue8 una raccolta di tutti i driver che incidono su un'adeguata gestione del lean management. Il primo studio consiste in un\u2019analisi della letteratura sul lean management e sulla management innovation. I due concetti sono stati confrontati per studiare i punti di contatto e le discrepanze. Dal confronto \ue8 risultato che i driver del lean management possono essere interpretati secondo il framework della management innovation ma che hanno assunto diversa importanza tra i ricercatori: la gestione della conoscenza e la formazione sono riconosciuti come due tra i pi\uf9 importanti driver per un'adeguata gestione del lean management. Il secondo studio \ue8 il cerchio intermedio poich\ue9 approfondisce due principali driver di adozione del lean management \u2013 le pratiche di gestione delle risorse umane (HRM) e le reazioni al cambiamento, e come esse impattano sulla trasformazione lean. Il modello concettuale \ue8 stato esplorato attraverso un caso studio, analizzato con la metodologia della QCA (Qualitative Comparative Analysis). I risultati supportano il ruolo preponderante svolto dalla formazione rispetto alle altre pratiche HRM; anche l'atteggiamento positivo delle persone (il comportamento pro-change) \ue8 risultato essere un driver per una trasformazione lean di successo. Infine, il terzo studio \ue8 il cerchio interno e si concentra sul ruolo della gestione della conoscenza attraverso uno studio approfondito del ruolo dell\u2019"international assignee" come meccanismo di trasferimento di conoscenza, all'interno di una societ\ue0 di consulenza multinazionale con struttura a rete. La metodologia scelta per questo argomento \ue8 la ricerca-intervento (action research), in quanto il ricercatore \ue8 stato attivamente coinvolto nell'analisi, con il ruolo di formatore per il lancio di un nuovo centro di formazione in America. I risultati dello studio forniscono sostegno all'ipotesi secondo cui l\u2019international assignee \ue8 un meccanismo efficiente ed efficace per trasferire conoscenza. La tesi intende contribuire alla concettualizzazione dei driver che influenzano l'adozione del lean management. In particolare, la letteratura esistente soffre di diversi livelli di attenzione sui driver del lean management e della mancanza di un punto di vista sistemico sui driver della trasformazione stessa. Inoltre, la tesi cerca anche di dare pi\uf9 spazio al ruolo delle persone durante i progetti di trasformazione lean. In particolare, la formazione ricopre un ruolo notevole anche in termini di trasferimento della conoscenza: elemento fondamentale per le imprese lean che sostengono standard comuni e un miglioramento continuo. I risultati ottenuti rafforzano ancor pi\uf9 il ruolo importante svolto dai driver nel lean management e come le organizzazioni possono beneficiare di una buona gestione degli stessi. I risultati sostengono anche il contributo della tesi alla letteratura esistente.This doctoral research is carried out in close cooperation with Lean Experience Factory, the training centre on lean management and Industry 4.0 established by Unindustria Pordenone and McKinsey&Company with partners such the University of Udine. The main goal of this study is to put people at the centre of the processes of change towards a lean organisation. Indeed, the literature shows an underdevelopment of the topic, as it has been focusing mainly into the technical side of lean transformation. The thesis is structured in three distinct studies that share this common goal but investigate different topics with different methodologies. The three papers can be thought in the shape of three concentric circles that embody the kind of interconnection described in this section. The first paper is the outer circle as it is a collection of all the drivers impacting toward successful lean management adoption. The first paper of this study consists in a review of the literature on lean management and management innovation. From the comparison of the two topics, the outcome is that lean management drivers can be interpreted according to the management innovation framework, but, at the same time, they have taken different relevance among scholars \u2013 training and knowledge management are recognized to be two of the most remarkable drivers toward successful lean management adoption. The second paper is the intermediate circle as it deepens two main drivers of lean management adoption \u2013 human resource management (HRM) practices and reactions to change, and how they impact on lean transformation. The analytical model has been explored by means of a case study analysed with the tools offered by Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). The results support the outstanding role played by training among the HRM practices; people attitude - pro-change behaviour, has also found support as a driver toward successful lean transformation and open the road to a more systemic analysis of lean management drivers. Finally, the third paper is the inner circle and it focuses on the topic of knowledge management, with a particular attention on the role of an \u201cexpatriate assignee\u201d as a knowledge transfer mechanism within a network-based multinational consultancy company. The methodology selected for this topic is the action research, as the researcher was actively involved in the analysis covering the role of the trainer for the launch of a new training centre in America. The results of the study provide support to the argument that expatriate management is an efficient and effective mechanism. The thesis intends to contributes to the conceptualization of the antecedents impacting on lean management adoption. The analysis is suffering of different levels of attention on lean management drivers and the lack of a systemic viewpoint of the set of antecedents. Also, the thesis gives more light to the role of people during lean transformation projects. Especially training was proved to cover a remarkable role also in terms of knowledge transfer \u2013 a fundamental element for lean enterprises that sustain common standards and continuous improvement. These insights strengthen even more the important role played by lean management antecedents and how organisations can benefit from a good management of the same. They also support the contribution of the thesis to the extant literature

Digital Transformation Strategies for Achieving Operational Excellence: a Cross-Country Evaluation

The last decade, the manufacturing industry has been concerned with digital transformation as a new lever for competitiveness. Nevertheless, the industrial digital transformation remains an emerging topic, which is not well understood academically and in terms of its practical implications. Due to different contextual factors and national development policies, companies from different countries adopted different strategies for supporting it. These often led to peculiar effects on the companies’ operations. This paper is investigating how four large manufacturers - two from Italy and two from Denmark – are strategically addressing this agenda. The aim of this research is to offer a perspective on technology transformation in diverse contexts by studying the different digital transformation strategies adopted by these companies and discussing their dependencies on contextual factors

The offshoring of financial services : a reassessment

Operating in increasingly competitive market environment, financial services companies are engaged in international re-engineering of business processes mirroring developments in manufacturing over the past four decades. Drawing upon interviews conducted with senior managers and partners from two leading international banks, a multinational 'consumables' provider and a leading finance consultancy, as well as extensive published surveys, we examine the distinctive 'anatomy' of offshoring in financial services, and industry which also manifests a high degree of geographical concentration for 'higher order' functions. We conclude that the reality of process re-engineering in the sector has frequently failed to meet business objectives, and has run the risk of creating 'backlash' from employees in both home and host environments

Implementing an Innovation Project in an Irish Multinational Subsidiary: A Dialogical Action Research Study

This paper presents an action research (AR) study based in APC by Schneider Electric, formerly APC Ireland, an Irish subsidiary of the Schneider Electric Corporation. The two-year study was carried out during a time of significant change in the Irish economy and in the multinational corporation. The research presents the reflections and findings of a dialogical action research study in the manufacturing operations group of the subsidiary. The work tells the story of how the project began, how the AR developed and how it was carried out. The study contributes to the debate for increasing academic–practitioner engagement within a rigorous framework and provides suggestions for further development of this recently proposed variant of action research. Consequently, we conclude that dialogical AR is a promising approach that provides a collaborative and supportive environment to facilitate organisational change and a practitioner’s professional development

Analysis of factors influencing Circular-Lean-Six Sigma 4.0 implementation considering sustainability implications: An exploratory study

In this study, we develop a new paradigm, Circular Lean Six Sigma 4.0 (CLSS4.0) to promote manufacturing sustainability. This paper aims to provide a practical and holistic view of the drivers and barriers that can help companies design an integrated CLSS4.0 model. The paper is based on a qualitative exploratory study using multiple case studies within 12 Moroccan manufacturing firms conducted through semi-structured interviews with top executive managers. The results show that the drivers are related to expected operational and environmental performance, increasing customer requirements, gaining competitive advantage and market growth while barriers are related to insufficient tangible (finance, human and equipment) and intangible (skills and techniques) resources, data privacy, technical issues and management support. The proposed framework identifies the assessment of drivers and barriers and their attributes as a starting point for managers to lead the CLSS4.0 transformation, thereby contributing to its successful implementation. To the best of our knowledge, this study is among the very first studies to discuss the CLSS4.0 drivers and barriers. It could be useful to managers as a diagnostic tool to assess their ability to implement CLSS4.0 before investing in the initiative