L'organització en xarxa del treball: una aproximació empírica per a l'empresa catalana

En el procés de construcció de l'economia i la societat del coneixement les fonts de l'eficiència empresarial s'estan transformant profundament. Com ens assenyala l'evidència empírica internacional, a l'explicació del potencial de creixement a llarg termini de l'activitat empresarial (productivitat del treball) s'afegeix tot un conjunt d'elements no tangibles, com el capital humà, l'organitzatiu i el tecnològic, així com les seves relacions de complementarietat, que cada vegada tenen més importància. A partir de la literatura sobre les xarxes intraorganitzatives, en aquest article analitzarem els sistemes d'organització del treball a l'empresa catalana durant l'exercici 2003. Constatarem el següent: a) que les pràctiques d'organització en xarxa del treball encara són poc presents al teixit productiu privat de Catalunya, i b) que aquestes noves pràctiques d'organització del treball s'associen amb una millor posició competitiva de l'empresa, un ús més intensiu de les TIC, més capacitació dels recursos humans i uns millors resultats empresarials

Information Technology, Human Resources Management Systems and Firm Performance: An Empirical Analysis from Spain

ABSTRACT This research paper uses survey data on 1.518 Catalan firms (in Spain, with capital in Barcelona) to examine the relationship between IT use, innovative human resources management systems (IHRMS) and firm's performance. Using factor and cluster analysis, we find that only one-third of Catalan firms use IHRMS. Using association analysis we find that firms that adopt IHMRS are more internationalised; show grater ability to adapt to the change environment, to innovate and to collaborate; focuses product/service differentiation strategy enhancing quality; apply a greater degree of new forms of work organization; use IT more intensively; and invest more in training their employees Using regression analysis, we find that features which are structural, technological, strategic, organisational and resultrelated explain the adoption of IHRMS

ICT, co-innovation and firm productivity: empirical evidence from Catalonia and international comparison of results

A partir de los datos para una muestra representativa del tejido productivo privado en Cataluña (1.283 empresas), en este trabajo se analizan: a) las nuevas fuentes co-innovadoras (usos TIC, nuevas formas de organización y cualificación del trabajo) de la productividad empresarial; y b) su comparación internacional de resultados. Para la gran mayoría de empresas catalanas (el 80% que no usa intensivamente la tecnología y el conocimiento) no se ha encontrado evidencia que corrobore la existencia de nuevas fuentes co-innovadoras en la explicación de su potencial de crecimiento a largo plazo. La comparación internacional de resultados realizada nos sugiere: a) una incidencia superior de la co-innovación sobre la productividad en las empresas del ámbito de EE.UU. y Australia, que en el contexto europeo; b) la inexistencia de un impacto relevante de los usos TIC sobre la productividad de las empresas españolas; y c) un importante atraso en la implantación de las fuentes co-innovadoras de la productividad en el tejido productivo catalán._____________________________________________Using survey data on a representative sample of the Catalan productive private network (1,238 firms), this paper a) analyzes the new co-innovative (ICT uses, skilled labour and new forms of work organization) productivity sources; and b) compares the results in an international framework. For most Catalan firms (80% of which neither use technology nor are knowledge intensive) there seems to be no evidence to corroborate the existence of new co-innovation sources in the explanation of their long term potential growth. When the results are compared at the international level, findings suggest that: a) there is a higher incidence of co-innovation on productivity in U.S. and Australian firms, as it also happens in the European context; b) there is no relevant impact of ICT use in Spanish firms’ productivity; and c) related to that, there is a significant delay in the implementation of the co-innovative productivity sources in the Catalan firms

ICT, skills, organisation and labour productivity: An empirical analysis of new firm’s efficiency sources in Catalonia

A partir de los datos para una muestra representativa del tejido productivo privado en Cataluña (1.283 empresas) y en sintonía con la evidencia empírica internacional, en este trabajo se analizan las nuevas fuentes co-innovadoras (usos TIC, nuevas formas de organización y cualificación del trabajo) de la productividad empresarial. Los resultados obtenidos nos han permitido identificar un patrón competitivo caracterizado por la decisiva contribución del capital físico productivo. Además, una segmentación del tejido empresarial nos sugiere la existencia de dos patrones competitivos claramente diferenciados. En las empresas intensivas en el uso de la tecnología y el conocimiento (alrededor de una quinta parte del total), la explicación de su nivel de productividad se basa en el capital físico productivo, los nuevos conjuntos de prácticas de organización del trabajo y las complementariedades entre éstas y el uso de las TIC. Por el contrario, en la gran mayoría de empresas catalanas (el 80% restante que no usa intensivamente la tecnología y el conocimiento) no se ha encontrado evidencia que corrobore la existencia de nuevas fuentes co-innovadoras en la explicación de su potencial de crecimiento a largo plazo.Using survey data on a representative sample of the productive private Catalonian network (1,238 firms) and in line with the international empirical evidence, this research paper analyzes the new co-innovative (ICT uses, skilled labour and new forms of work organization) productivity sources. The results have enabled us to identify a competitive pattern marked by the decisive contribution of physical productive capital. In addition, a segmentation of the business sample suggests the existence of two distinct patterns in productivity sources. In technology and knowledge intensive-firms (about one fifth of the total) the sources of productivity level is bases on physical productive capital, new work organizations systems and complementarities between then and the use of ICT. By the rest of Catalan firms (80% who do not use technology and knowledge intensive) has not found evidence to corroborate the existence of new co-innovation sources in the explanation of their long term potential growth

Gender inequality in job quality. What has happened in Spain during the recession?

Through a representative sample of 5,381 (3,079 men and 2,302 women) and 4,925 (2,719 men and 2,206 women) employees in 2008 and 2010, and a using two-stage structural equation model, this article empirically analyses the multi-dimensional determinants (direct effects) of gender-related job quality in Spain. The research revealed four main results. First, despite the economic crisis, job quality in Spain had improved over the analysis period. Second, the improvement in job quality during the crisis was more favourable to men than it was to women. Third, the gender differences in the explanation of job quality during the crisis increased considerably in favour of men. Fourth, this increase in gender difference in job quality in favour of men is explained by a worsening of 4 of the 5 explanatory dimensions thereof: intrinsic job quality; work organisation and workplace relationships; working conditions, work intensity and health and safety at work; and extrinsic rewards. Only inequality in the work-life balance dimension remained stable from 2008 to 2010. In terms of employment and gender equality public policy our research results suggest two important conclusions. In the first place, the importance of paying much greater attention to working environment and social relation dimensions in gender-related employment public policies. Second, gender equality public policy should also address new problems associated with the accelerated changes at work. In particular, the different job quality problems between highly skilled and less skilled working men and women, the link between gender gap and occupations, and the need to consider the different institutional regimes and organised labour to overcome gender-related job inequalities

Workplace or working environment? Job quality and economic crisis in Spain

Through a representative sample of 9,100 and 8,755 employees in 2008 and 2010, and a using structural equation model, this working paper empirically analyses the multi-dimensional determinants (direct effects) of job quality in Spain. The research concludes that: #1 despite the economic crisis, job quality improved over the analysis period; #2 intrinsic job quality, work organisation, and inclusion and access to the labor market are the key explanatory dimensions of job quality; and #3 the main effect of the economic crisis on job quality was a significant restructuring of its explanatory dimensions in favour of those more directly linked to the working environment, and specifically to social relations, health and safety at work, working conditions, and gender equality and work-life balance. These results suggest the importance of the working environment and social relationships, beyond the quality of the workplace, as important tools of employment public policy to improve labor markets and to overcoming the economic crisis

E-learning, vocational training and employability for the unemployed: survey design and validation

The paper analyses the effect of e-learning vocational training on the employability of the unemployed. Through a questionnaire survey of 5,265 people who took part in ane-learning training programme developed in 2009 by the Catalan Employment Service (SOC) and the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) to improve the employability of the unemployed, the study makes two main contributions. First,we describe the design of an 18-item scale. Second, the study analyses the factorial structure and psychometric properties of that scale. Three factors from the exploratoryfactor analysis, namely competencies developed (α1=0.93), applicability of training (α2=0.92) and satisfaction with the pedagogical design (α3=0.90), explain 71.5% of cumulative variance. The total scale reliability is 0.94. The statisticsobtained for the confirmatory factor analysis (CFI=0.94, NNFI=0.94, and RMSEA=0.08) indicate an acceptable fit of the proposed threefactor model (Chi-square=2.416, p=0.000). The coefficients of the estimates, all with valuesbetween 0.85 and 1.66, are significant at p<0.001.The study provides new evidence in the specific field of e-learning vocational training specifically for the unemployed, as well as new dimensions such as the structure and the pedagogical design of the programme. The analysis of a new edition of the programme in 2012 reveals the usefulness of e-learning for the unemployed withfewer formal qualifications

Job change without changing job? Exploring job crafting in Spain

The working paper explores job crafting and their convergent validity with work engagement and proactive personality in Spain. Based on the Job Demands- Resources model with four dimensions (increasing structural job resources, decreasing hindering job demands, increasing social job resources, and increasing challenging job demands) the working paper validates a job crafting scale using a sample of 896 employees working for firms in Spain. The results of the confirmatory factor and invariance analyses suggest that the four-factor model satisfactorily describes the dimensional structure of the 21-item scale, with Cronbach's alpha reliability indices between 0.70 and 0.79. Regarding convergent validity, the factors increasing structural job resources, increasing social job resources, and increasing challenging job demands correlate positively with the three sub-scales of Work Engagement (vigour, dedication and absorption) and with the Proactive Personality Scale. In contrast, the factor decreasing hindering job demands correlates negatively with the sub-scales of work engagement and not at all with proactivity. These results essentially point towards potential interventions that employees could make to influence their skills, learning and professional development; the interaction with and inspiration drawn from supervisors and colleagues; the proactivity in terms of developing new job demands; and reducing job-related mental and emotional intensity and difficulties

E‐learning y desarrollo de competencias: la micronización de contenidos en economía y empresa

Entre las nuevas necesidades de formación y de aprendizaje surgidas de la definición de un Espacio Europeo de Enseñanza Superior (EEES) común, destaca la necesidad de profundizar en una mejor enseñanza científica y técnica, así como en el desarrollo de competencias genéricas y transversales de cara a un aprendizaje permanente a lo largo de la vida. De acuerdo con este marco general, en este artículo se define una metodología educativa adaptada a la formación virtual, y aplicada a la enseñanza y aprendizaje en el área de conocimiento de economía y empresa, que permita la integración de las principales competencias genéricas al currículum docente. Así, después de establecer en la primera parte del artículo cuales son estas competencias, que clasificamos en instrumentales, personales, sistémicas y en transferibles, se propone una metodología que permita encajarlas en cada uno de los objetivos de aprendizaje propuestos para los grados de economía y empresa. La micronización de los contenidos, es decir, la división sucesiva de contenidos en unidades menores, permitirá en la parte central del artículo definir lo que llamamos el mapa de competencias y de contenidos para la formación virtual, concretando en donde se trabaja una u otra competencia. Se definen estas unidades menores, producto de la micronización de contenidos, de forma que contemplen la posibilidad de que haya diferentes niveles de dificultad, y diferentes niveles de profundidad. Asimismo se propone que contengan ejercicios y actividades, elementos que permitan la evaluación de su aprendizaje, y la relación de contenidos relacionados. En la parte final del artículo, se desarrolla una aplicación práctica de la metodología propuesta alrededor de un objetivo de formación concreto en economía y empresa, como es el estudio de las estructuras de mercado. Esta implementación, nos ha permitido crear un ejemplo de un nuevo material de aprendizaje, identificando tanto los diferentes niveles de dificultad como de profundidad, así como aquellas competencias concretas que se desarrollan con su trabajo.One of the formation and learning priorities that has appeared from the definition of the European Space for Higher Education, is the need to study in depth a better scientific and technical education, as well as the development of generic and transversal competences based on the lifelong learning. In this article an educative methodology adapted to e‐learning is defined and applied to the area of economic and business knowledge, which allows the integration of the main generic competences to the educational curriculum. After setting these competences and its classification on the first part of the article, we propose a methodology that allows fitting each of them with the learning objectives proposed for the Economy and Business Degrees. Micronization or the successive division of contents in smaller units will allow us to define the map of competences and contents for e‐learning, indicating where each competence is developed. These small units, outcomes of the micronization, are defined in order to consider different levels of difficulty and depth. It also contains exercises and activities, elements that permit us to relate contents and evaluate its learning and performance. Finally, a practical application of the proposed methodology about a formative objective is developed, as it is the study of the market structures. This implementation has permitted us to create an example of a new learning material, identifying the different levels of difficulty and depth, as well as the development of competences

Una experiencia de coaching en estudiantes universitarios

Coaching is a process of growth that has expanded into many areas. From a theoretical perspective the coaching has three major theoretical lines or schools: North American (Leonard), European (Gallwey and Whitmore) and South American (Flores, Echeverría, Olalla and Maturana). An effective coach has empathy, builds trust, is professional and uses methodologies. Finally, an experience is described in the classroom where the students are involved in a process of coaching.El coaching es un proceso de crecimiento que se ha expandido a numerosos ámbitos. Desde una perspectiva teórica el coaching tiene tres grandes líneas teóricas o escuelas: Norteamericana (Leonard), europea (Gallwey y Whitmore) y sudamericana (Flores, Echeverría, Olalla y Maturana).Un coach eficaz tiene empatía, genera confianza, es profesional y utiliza metodologías. Finalmente, se describe una experiencia en el aula, los alumnos viven un proceso de coaching