Organization Theories and the Dilemmas of Contemporary Labour Law

The aim of this short paper is to enlighten some cultural premises of the transformation of legal regulation of labour relations, referring in particular to the organizational ideas and concepts adopted in the doctrinal labour law debate and assuming that the transformation of labour law is not an immediate consequence of an economic and organizational transformation, but a consequence of a cultural transition of legal operators

Decreto Legislativo 81/2008. Quale prevenzione nei luoghi di lavoro?

A contribution in the medical field illustrates the historical evolution of the concepts of prevention and health to which it is necessary to refer for a discussion about health and safety in the workplace. Some contributions in the fields of labor law and organizational theory interpret the norms currently effective in Italy and the guidelines for the assessment of risks in work situations. What conception of prevention is implicitly assumed by the norms, and by the guidelines that the norms indicate? Are the current norms adequate to stimulate organizational choices aimed at preventing risks and discouraging harmful choices? Limits and contradictions hindering a real, effective, primary prevention are emphasized

Prevention at work and stress evaluation in France and in Italy / La prévention sur les lieux de travail et l’évaluation du stress en France et en Italie / Prevenzione nei luoghi di lavoro e valutazione dello stress in Francia e in Italia

A European directive, transposed into the legal systems of the member States, steers towards an idea of prevention that is primary, general, programmed and integrated in work design. The interpretation of norms and the guidelines of institutions devoted to health and safety in the workplace direct, however, towards the management of existing risks. This is particularly evident as far as stress and the so called psycho-social risks are concerned. Even the approaches of disciplines regarding work follow the same trend. A real and effective protection of well-being appears to be neglected, and this is confirmed by statistics about physical and psychological damages to workers. The contributions in this collection concern France and Italy, where, however, internationally recognized approaches, allowing primary prevention interventions on work, have been developed

Regolazione flessibile del lavoro, vulnerabilità e crisi del legame sociale

ItPer comprendere l’attuale configurazione della regolazione del lavoro, è necessario constatare che il valore politico del lavoro come bene sociale, a partire dagli anni Ottanta, è stato profondamente ridimensionato. La contrattualizzazione neo-liberale dei rapporti di lavoro, che ispira le più recenti riforme della regolazione del lavoro, tende a fare del lavoro stesso una mera attività strumentale al mantenimento della capacità di consumo. Si innesca, in questo modo, un processo ricorsivo che, indebolendo le autonomie collettive, rafforza le possibilità di valorizzazione capitalistica del lavoro ma, al tempo stesso, ne impoverisce il valore sociale e produce un deterioramento del legame sociale

The italian way to financial accumulation. Personal networks and informal practices of the italian economic elites

This paper challenges the belief that Italian capitalism is a static and unchanging one. Italian capitalism has retained some unique characteristics: an elitist structure, close personal relationships, a high degree of informality. However, far from being just the characteristics of an unchanging capitalism, these peculiarities were the resources that Italian capitalism exploited to change its mode of action. First, we identify the network of interlocking actors in the Italian stock market and their set of informal practices, illustrating the paramount role of families and informal relationships. Second, we show why these characteristics did not prevent Italian capitalists to enter an era of financial accumulation. Resilience is the keyword, understood both as adaptation to changing conditions and as active reaction, a proper transformation. As an example of adaptation, we analyse how Italian capitalism has faced some institutional changes preserving its traditional power structure. As an example of transformation, we show how Italian capitalism adopted patterns of financial accumulation and maximization of shareholder value. Finally, we argue that informality and the dissemination of personal relationships are not impediment to change: in the practical logic of social and economic actors they are rather resources to be exploited when it comes to make changes without sacrificing the status quo

Finanziarizzazione e regolazione del lavoro: un’alternativa analitica alle vulgate del postfordismo

The goal of this paper is to provide a contribution to the debate concerning the relationship between the financialization process of the economy and the organizational changes implemented by enterprises, as well as the transformation of labour regulation. The hypothesis here proposed is that there is a tight connection between these elements, and that the analysis of such connection provides key insights about how to critically interpret the development, in the last few decades, of organizational and managerial practices and of a profoundly renewed labour law. In this perspective, the paper offers an alternative reconstruction of the so-called “post-fordist” transformations

Economia fondamentale e territorio: ‘istituzioni della felicità’, auto-organizzazione e azione pubblica

This paper presents the essential features of the foundational economy approach, proposed by an international research network established in 2013 at the University of Manchester. Overcoming the mythology of hi-tech and advanced manufacturing, foundational economics scholars focus on the economic sectors decisive for well-being and social cohesion (for example, the production and distribution of food, the distribution of water and energy, health, education, transport). Such economic activities are strongly rooted in the territories, albeit often transcending their borders. The foundational economy has been weakened by the developments of the neo-liberal turn in the last thirty-five years. The search for extra-profits and rents, and the maximization of the return on capital, are today common practices in this economic area as well. The foundational economy research network aims to analyze these drifts and to cooperate with economic actors, political actors and collective actors of civil society to develop alternative instruments of action and regulation. The aim is not rejecting market coordination as such, but preventing the foundational economy from being subjected to short-term accumulation claims. In this perspective, forms of grassroots economic self-organisation are extremely important, but the need for innovative regulatory instruments at a national and international scale should not be underestimated

Storie di imprese

How do enterprises change? This volume tells the “stories” of the organizational transformations implemented in the first decade of the new millennium by five enterprises: Fiat Auto, Finmeccanica, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Zurich, and Poste Italiane. Stories dealing with transformations of organizational configurations, changes in the policies of personnel management, implementation of mergers and acquisitions, reorganization of internal work processes, etc. These stories were collected during the workshops of the Research Program “L’Officina di Organizzazione”, in which managers and executives, protagonists of the organizational transformations, discuss about them with colleagues from other enterprises and university scholars. Each story is first told from “the inside", from the point of view of one or more of its protagonists, and then interpreted according to different theoretical perspectives

Tempo, lavoro e regolazione: verso il processo d'azione a più livelli

International audienceVorremmo riprendere come filo conduttore il perimetro dell’azione, e scegliere il punto di vista di un suo ampliamento ai fini dell’analisi. Questa prospettiva vorrebbe giovarsi di altri autori, che permettono di pensare l’azione come un processo che si sviluppa attraverso scalarità e livelli, come Jean-Daniel Reynaud (1997; 1999) (teoria della regolazione sociale, TRS) e Gilbert de Terssac (2011) (teoria del lavoro d’organizzazione, TTO). L’obiettivo è continuare la riflessione proposta da Bruno Maggi (2011a) (teoria dell’agire organizzativo, TAO), seguendo Max Weber sull’azione in quanto mette a fuoco il processo d’azione e non il risultato. Uno degli ostacoli di questo passaggio dall’azione all’agire riguarda la chiusura dell’analisi su livelli particolari. Secondo il punto di vista che vorremmo sviluppare, la specializzazione su un livello d’azione – come ad esempio la situazione di lavoro per la negoziazione collettiva d’impresa – non dovrebbe impedire di guardare altri livelli che permettono di comprendere il processo d’azione

From individual choice to collective voice. Foundational economy, local commons and citizenship

none3noUnder what conditions and by which mechanisms do the defence and mana- gement of local commons open new spaces for the recovery of a universalistic model of citizenship, after the crisis of welfare capitalism regimes? To deal with this question we propose first to frame local commons within the range of Foundational Economy, namely the «civic infrastructure» of mundane goods and services that serve daily-life needs. We then discuss some analytical risks of the customary approach to local commons, arguing that the Foundational Economy approach may help to overcome them. Finally, we illustrate several cases of collective effort that support both the defence and the management of local commons. These cases are grounded in collective action and voice in support of a new universalistic model of citizenship where ritual social practices, legal rights and responsibilities are intertwined.mixedBarbera, Filippo; Negri, Nicola; Salento, AngeloBarbera, Filippo; Negri, Nicola; Salento, Angel