Human resource and industrial relations practices of UK and US multinationals in Germany

Most of the research about HRM and IR practices of MNCs in their host country has been conducted in deregulated countries such as the UK and the US. Host countries with relatively weak institutional arrangements facilitate the transfer of home-country practices. In contrast, those with institutionally strong systems, such as Germany, impose stronger pressures for adaptation. This paper reports research about nine US and four UK subsidiaries operating in Germany. It examines how their HRM and IR practices are shaped by German labour and IR institutions, how they differ from a control group of indigenous firms and what room for manoeuvre is left for the introduction of home-country practices. The main conclusions are that small and medium-sized subsidiaries in particular can to some extent avoid the pressures exerted by German labour and IR institutions. This facilitates the transfer of home-country practices. However, even larger affiliates that comply with the German institutions can transfer practices from their parent company. The highly regulated German system leaves some room for flexibility. Nevertheless, the institutional environment prevents large companies from following a unitarist HRM and IR approach

Changes in academic work and the chair regime: the case of German business administration academics

Today universities around the world are becoming subject to audits and evaluations that not only open them to outside scrutiny, but also force them to compete with each other for students, staff and funding. This development is supposed to lead to radical changes to academic work in business schools. Whereas there is an intensive debate about this issue in the UK, much less is known about changes in higher education in other European countries. This paper will show through the example of German business administration academics that similar pressures might not lead to similar outcomes. In the German system, hierarchy will remain more important than the market for academic work. Although role conflicts seem to increase for academics at all hierarchical levels, the traditional regime is likely to resist any far-reaching changes

Employment restructuring and flexibility in Austrian and Danish banking

The literature on the impact of new competitive forces on ‘traditional’ industries in Europe tends to emphasize a rather unidirectional line of development. Concentration of capital will pave the way for structural adaptation leading to rationalization and redundancies. In contrast, this cross-national study of the Austrian and Danish banking industries, which have very much in common in terms of their contextual characteristics, indicates rather diverse approaches to pressures for change. Even though competitive pressures are similar, differences in employment restructuring and flexibility prevail between the two national sectors

HRM in the German business system: a review

Human resource management in Germany is deeply rooted in its institutional environment. Thus, US style HRM cannot be simply transferred to the German context. Nevertheless, the German business system is not hostile to HRM principles. Rather, these practices have to be adapted to the demands and constrains of the German socio-economic context. The key labour market institutions of collective bargaining, co-determination, and initial vocational training in particular require a pluralist style of human resource management. As our review suggests, these institutions support the implementation of some HRM principles while inhibiting others. Also, the concept of Strategic HRM in Germany may only be fully understood against the background of labour market institutions

The complex concept of sustainable of diversity management:…and why forming policies in this area is far from straightforward

Purpose – Explores the notion of sustainable diversity-management practices. Design/methodology/approach – Summarizes research into the sustainability of diversity management across four countries and provides examples of efforts to maintain high levels of diversity. Findings – Looks at the activities of Africa House, an organization that develops business links with Africa, and of BEN Television, which is a television station that caters primarily for ethnic minorities. Practical implications – Demonstrates that diversity is a multi-dimensional concept that can be structured within two frameworks: demographic diversity regarding, for example, age, gender and nationality; and human-capital diversity, such as cognitive diversity, skill and experience diversity. Social implications – Highlights the complexity of diversity and so the difficulty of legislating in this area. Originality/value – Explains that employees can also stifle attempts to engage in sustainable diversity management policies. A lack of understanding of local laws or language, or through limited social contacts, can prevent full participation by employees

Have labour practices and human rights disclosures enhanced corporate accountability? The case of the GRI framework

This paper critically evaluates Transnational Corporations’ (TNCs) claimed adherence to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)´s ‘labour’ and ‘human rights’ reporting guidelines and examines how successful the GRI has been in enhancing comparability and transparency. We found limited evidence of TNCs discharging their accountability to their workforce and, rather, we found evidence to suggest that disclosure was motivated more by enhancing their legitimacy. TNCs failed to adhere to the guidelines, which meant that material information items were often missing, rendering comparability of information meaningless. Instead, TNCs reported large volumes of generic/anecdotal information without acknowledging the impediments they faced in practice

THE MANAGEMENT AND CAPITALIZATION OF THE LANDSCAPING POTENTIAL OF THE CRUCII SQUARE FROM TIMISOARA CITY

The Crucii Square is situated in the Elisabetin district in the city of Timisoara, in a residential area. According to a map from 1849, the current Crucii Square is situated on the very line of the building injunction circle around the fortress of Timisoara. The square name originates from an old cross which was preserved until today. Taking into the age of the oldest trees, the square was set as a green space after 1920. The current landscaping consists in tracing and slabbing the allies and building a new hero monument, also dates from after 1920. The square’s surface is of 6255mp. In the present paper we carried out an estimate of the green space and determined the current vegetation state, since green cadastre is the only way to determine the real state of green spaces belonging to a city’s patrimony, including parks and squares as well as the entire street vegetation (Ciupa et al., 2005). The paper‘s character is thus that of a vegetation fund inventory, as well as organisational design based on ecologic and landscaping criteria. The paper also comprises a square landscaping proposal, highlighting the site’s historic character and the high vegetation value