Management practices and SME performance

We examine the association between management practices and SME performance in Britain over the period 2011 -201 5, using a unique dataset which links survey data on management practices with firm performance data from the UK’s official business register. We find that SMEs are less likely to use formal management practices than larger firms . However, such practices appear to have demonstrable benefits for those SMEs who use them, being positively associated with firm survival, growth and productivity. Our results add further weight to policy initiatives which seek to encourage SMEs to improve their management skills and capabilities

WIRS through the ages

There was a time before WIRS when what we knew of industrial relations was based primarily upon small scale surveys and case studies. WIRS marked a radical departure in the study of industrial relations for two reasons. First, following in the footsteps of a small number of survey forerunners, it sought to ‘map’ industrial relations in Britain with nationally-representative large-scale surveys of workplace managers, thus permitting investigation of the incidence of practices and changes over time. Second, it focused on industrial relations institutions and outcomes, linking them to the processes of industrial relations that had been the chief focus of studies up until that point. This paper reflects on some of what we have learned in the five surveys over the quarter century since 1980, focusing selectively on the demise of collective IR and the coming of human resource management (HRM), pay determination and the union wage effects, variable pay, the climate of employment relations and union effects on employment growth

The Size of the Union Membership Wage Premium in Britain's Private Sector

Summary: The paper estimates the union wage premium in Britain's private sector in 1998, after nearly two decades of union decline. It examines the performance of the linear estimator alongside a semi-parametric technique (propensity score matching (PSM)) : hitherto unused in the wage premium literature - which shares the same identifying assumption, namely that selection into membership is captured with observable data. Results using the two techniques are compared, and reasons for differences in results are identified and discussed. By altering the information set entering estimation the paper shows the sensitivity of OLS and PSM results to data quality

Working with dinosaurs?: Union effectiveness in delivering for employees

Summary: This paper considers the meaning of union effectiveness and identifies features of union structure and behaviour that are correlated with employee perceptions of union effectiveness in delivering improved work and working conditions. There are strong links between unions’ organisational effectiveness and employee perceptions of whether they are effective in achieving fair pay, promoting equal opportunities, protecting workers, making work interesting and enjoyable, and working with management to increase quality and productivity

Employee Voice, Workplace Closure and Employment Growth: a Panel Analysis

Summary: This paper uses the 1990-1998 Workplace Industrial Relations Survey (WIRS) Panel to analyse the impact of worker voice on workplace closure and employment growth among workplaces in Britain

Union Effects on Workplace Governance 1983–1998

Summary: This paper addresses the question: what impact do trade unions have on workplace governance, and how has this changed during two decades of union decline? Using nationally representative data on employees in the British Social Attitudes Surveys (BSAS) 1983:1998, we assess associations between measures of unionisation and employee perceptions of three aspects of workplace governance: the employee relations climate; managers' treat-ment of employees and unions; and managerial performance. The paper provides broad support for the three hypotheses explored in the paper. First, employees' perceptions of workplace governance are better where there is a balance of power between unions and management at the workplace. Secondly, employees' perceptions of workplace governance are better where management supports union membership, and are poorest where they actively discourage membership. Thirdly, employees' perceptions of union effective-ness are positively associated with employees' perceptions of good workplace governance. A further hypothesis, namely that perceptions of governance will have deteriorated since the 1980s in unionised workplaces due to the weaker position of unions in the workplace, and to declining support for unions among employers, was not supported. Perceptions of workplace governance had deteriorated since the 1980s. However, these trends were apparent among employees in unionised and non-unionised workplaces. There was no evidence to suggest that the trend was associated with a diminution in union power, managers' changing attitudes to unions, or the perceived effectiveness of unions

Employee Desire for Unionisation in Britain and its Implications for Union Organising

Summary: This paper considers the size of the market for unionisation in Britain and what unions can do to increase employees' desire for membership and representation. It identifies quite high levels of union satisfaction among members, but a sizeable minority of 10-14% of members who are discontented with their union who are most at risk of leaving the union. Successful retention depends upon unions identifying ways in which the union can better represent its members on a diverse set of issues, and ensuring union representation can bring benefits over and above those on offer through non-union collective representation. Over one-third of non-members in unionised workplaces say they would like to join a union if asked, but over half of non-members eligible to join the union at their workplace have never been asked to join. In-fill recruitment will improve where unions convince non-members that they are effective organisations capable of making a difference; where they can convince non-members that it is -people like you' who join unions; and where they can persuade non-members that membership is value for money. Although non-members in unorganised workplaces are less collectivist in outlook than employees in unionised workplaces, almost half say they would join a union if asked. In the absence of a union, desire for unionisation among non-members in unorganised workplaces turns on their general perceptions of unions in society, their image of unions, and expectations about what a union might do if it existed at their workplace

Union Effects On Managerial and Employee Perceptions of Employee Relations in Britain

This paper uses matched employer-employee data from the 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey (WERS98) to estimate influences on managerial and employee perceptions of the employee relations climate. Both the strength and direction of union effects differ according to the nature of the union and employer responses to it. Employee and employer perceptions of climate differ according to the strength of the union, bargaining arrangements adopted, and managerial attitudes to union membership. Employees’ perceptions of climate are also strongly associated with employees’ perceptions of union effectiveness